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March 09, 2010

AUTM Survey Shows Drop in Issued Patents

Last
month, the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) released its U.S. licensing survey for
FY2008.According to a GenomeWeb Daily Newsreport,
a majority of the academic and research institutions that answered the survey
indicated that they filed more patent applications and were involved in more
start-ups during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008.However, survey respondents also indicated that they secured
fewer patents, entered into fewer licensing agreements, and saw the
introduction of fewer new products during the survey period.

With
respect to application filings, the survey showed that respondents disclosed
20,115 inventions in FY2008, which constituted a more than 1% increase from the
19,827 inventions disclosed in FY2007, and a more than 6% increase from the
18,874 inventions disclosed in FY2006.Start-ups by survey respondents were also up, albeit slightly, from
3,381 in FY2007 to 3,388 in FY2008.

As
for patent grants, the survey showed that the number of patents issued to
survey respondents dropped from 3,622 in FY2007 to 3,280 in FY2008 -- a 9%
decline.(With respect to the AUTM survey, the high water mark for issued
patents came in FY2003, when respondents secured 3,933 patents.)The most recent survey also showed a 9% drop
in new products introduced, down from 686 in FY2007 to 648 in FY2008, and a 5%
decline in licenses, down from 4,354 in FY2007 to 4,144 in FY2008.

The
AUTM FY2008 U.S. Licensing Survey can be obtained here
(at a cost of $60).